Black Bird

Title:  Black Bird
Mangaka:  Kanoko Sakurakoji
Length:  14 Volumes (ongoing)
English Translation?  Yes, 12 volumes so far by Viz Media.
Demo/Genre:  Shoujo/Fantasy/Romance/Drama

How did I find out about it?  It hangs out in the Top 40 list at mangareader.net.

Misao has been able to see youkai (demons) her entire life.  As she nears her sixteenth birthday, their attacks become more and more bold.  There to save her is someone she never thought she'd meet again:  a childhood friend whom she fondly remembers as her first love, Kyo, who is now a handsome twenty-year-old.  She learns that Kyo is also a demon and the head of his clan.  He has come back to make good on a promise he made to her as a child, which was to marry her.  He reveals to her that she is a rare human known as the Senka.  This means any demon that consumes her blood will gain great power.  It is also said that wedding and bedding her will bring great prosperity to a clan.  But does he truly love her or just want her for the sake of his clan?

Human girl falls for otherworldly man... Yeah, that's been done before.  But as cliche as it sounds, I really thought it would be right up my alley.  However, this series just didn't do it for me.  The problem wasn't the premise.  It was the characters.  I know that many people love this manga, and that's great.  I would never antagonize someone for not sharing my opinion.  To each his own, right?  I'm just saying that personally, this wasn't my favorite, and now I shall tell you why.

First, we have Misao.  At first, she's resistant to Kyo because she's not sure if he genuinely loves her or if he's just out to gain power for his clan.  Once she's convinced, she resists no more and falls completely in love with him. This is fine.  My issue with Misao is how helpless she is.  She truly plays the damsel in distress.  These demons are out to consume her, yet she never really tries to defend herself.  She finds herself constantly in danger and consistently fails to offer any kind of resistance.  I'm a sucker for stories where the knight in shining armor performs the daring rescue at the last minute, but I feel that protecting Misao is a full-time job.  Kyo definitely has his work cut out for him.  I will say this for Misao though.  She grows more spine as the series moves along.  Rather than learning to physically defend herself, she does begin to show initiative as the plot thickens.  She doesn't cower in fear when it comes to Kyo's malevolent older brother.  She stands up to the man who threatens her and Kyo's relationship.  I was glad to see that, and I did gain a little more respect for Misao.  She just hasn't quite won me over yet.

Moving on to Kyo.  I don't doubt that he truly loves Misao.  He does prove throughout the series that his love is genuine.  He went to great lengths just to be able to marry her, and he proves time and time again that her safety is his top priority.  I just didn't like the way he was written.  His personality seemed very disjointed to me.  Sometimes he's aloof and seems too preoccupied to pay attention to Misao, then he'll suddenly be incredibly smitten, lavishing attention on her and becoming quite jealous and over-protective of her.  Sometimes he's very smooth and romantic with her, but then he'll suddenly be harsh with her or tease her almost to the point of cruelty.  Ok, so "cruelty" is a little extreme.  More specifically, he often teases her, dangling his affection just out of reach, to the point where she's in tears, then he reveals he was "only joking" and just wanted to get a rise out of her.  I call that being an asshole.  I just felt that overall, his personality bounced from one extreme to the other with no fluid transition between any of his moods.  I just haven't been able to bring myself to like Kyo.

I know I was fairly harsh with the series right then, but honestly, I don't hate it.  I still read the new chapters as they are scanlated.  I'm actually liking it a bit more lately.  I really do like the story.  I just wish the characters worked a little better for me.  If Misao had demonstrated more strength and spirit in the beginning, and if Kyo were toned down just a bit and smoothed out, I think I could really love this series.  As it stands right now though, I'm just not in love.  Currently, I have no plans to collect this one.

Oh, and one other thing... the artwork is very beautiful, no?  I really loved the art.